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Specialising in Skip Tracing / Person Location, Family Research & Factual Investigations
Man-tracking skills for SAR personnel- A Footprint is a communication.
No 2 in a 3-part series of – Man-tracking in SAR Operations and Investigations My advice is no matter where the case is, be it deep in the mountains, or in the pits of suburbia we enter the theatre of every investigation like a ‘Stone-Smith’ studies a block of granite, or a diamond in the rough, every potential facet examined carefully before chipping away at the hard crust, sifting through the dust, looking for the glint of value in a gem of the truth. Eccentric, maybe, or p
Valentine Smith APM
Aug 97 min read
Man-tracking skills for SAR personnel- Usage is on the rise in Europe
No 1 in a 3-part series of Man-tracking in SAR Operations and Investigations ‘One of the most overlooked aspects of tracking is that it fundamentally trains observation’. The quote, in italics, above and the three below are from Kyt Lyn Walken’s notes on Man-tracking. I’m not a Man-tracker, but Kyt is and she is recognised across Europe as one of the best. Her experience, qualifications and energy in the field are outstanding[i]. As a specialist in investigative thinking wha
Valentine Smith APM
Jul 1010 min read
Search and Rescue in Australia (circa 1924), and 100 years on. Otto Yuncken – A murder, a hero, a dynasty.
Photo: The rescue party riding out across a High Country plain with George in bandages and broken bones on the middle horse ‘At daybreak...
Valentine Smith APM
Apr 18, 20254 min read
The Grief / Loss Impact Register (GLIR) – Where do you as a Government and your Police service sit?
Image of a pioneer’s tombstone in the Australian out-back, Valentine Smith © 2022 The Missed Foundation [i] calculates that for every...
Valentine Smith APM
Feb 20, 20253 min read
Part Four: Missing Person Response – Gaps uncovered
The first police unit on scene took down basic initial details and commenced a land search of the navigable roads and tracks for some hours.
Valentine Smith APM
Jan 20, 20258 min read
Part Three: Missing Person Response - Gaps uncovered
PART THREE OF A FOUR PART SERIES Victimology and Witness handling INTRODUCTION: Criticisms, no more criticisms – with over fifty years in policing and investigations, the last ten years almost solely concentrating on missing persons, I have identified gaps in most cases. However, I am generally not overly critical, why? Because I understand reality and the limitations and pressures in which police work. I also understand that it is the front-line officer who is usually the t
Valentine Smith APM
Dec 23, 20246 min read
Gunfire – In ‘The High Country’
Murdered or Lost - clarifying the missing? (Three years down the track) There have always been ‘lone wolf’ stories of mostly men who...
Valentine Smith APM
Sep 11, 20246 min read
‘The Lost Boy’ – Tragedy in the Outback…
Everything in life is a ‘Maybe, even where we think we have a considerable degree of control of direction and choice. Many things we do...
Valentine Smith APM
Mar 28, 20243 min read
![MISSING[i]– 35 Years in the Australian bush.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/93549e_e0185d4780c7424c89fdb4442341c1f2~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_241,h_272,fp_0.50_0.50,lg_1,q_35,blur_30,enc_avif,quality_auto/93549e_e0185d4780c7424c89fdb4442341c1f2~mv2.png)
![MISSING[i]– 35 Years in the Australian bush.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/93549e_e0185d4780c7424c89fdb4442341c1f2~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_241,h_272,fp_0.50_0.50,lg_1,q_95,enc_avif,quality_auto/93549e_e0185d4780c7424c89fdb4442341c1f2~mv2.png)
MISSING[i]– 35 Years in the Australian bush.
(Adapted front cover image of Tom Patterson’s 2022 book of the incredible story of Mark May) If there ever was one book that could be...
Valentine Smith APM
Jan 29, 20244 min read
We might as well be on the moon
CREDIT: MATT PALMER - https://mattpalmer.co Our Trip to Craigs Hut. By Pastor Christopher and Yolanda Eckels[i] Edited by Valentine...
Valentine Smith APM
Sep 5, 202311 min read
Not all who are missing are lost
Out of the Forest is a unique tale of survival. A young man is raised in grim circumstances, facing adversity in the most atrocious of ways.
Samantha Kiss
Dec 13, 20222 min read
Missing persons and investigative first response
A manual that we all need, it covers everything from first response to continuing intelligence capture/management.
Valentine Smith APM
Dec 11, 20221 min read
Footprints in the Wilderness
Why do any of us feel rejuvenated when we go into a forest, sit on a quiet ocean beach, or even visit an urban park?
Valentine Smith APM
Jul 22, 20223 min read
“Cold Case Challenges” Missing in Action, Lost Boys in the Wilderness
The incident scene is born through a set of circumstances. It explodes into life and then immediately begins to die until there is virtuall
Valentine Smith APM
Jul 21, 20227 min read
Losing Track
How many times do you think, hear or say, “I’ve lost track of where I am” or maybe it is more a case of “I’ve lost track of my thoughts”...
Valentine Smith APM
Jul 21, 20229 min read
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